"Brushless" automated vehicle washing systems are commonly utilized to quickly and efficiently clean vehicles without requiring any hand scrubbing or contact of cleaning members with the exterior of a vehicle. Brushless vehicle washing systems utilize pressurized fluid jets that are passed adjacent to the surface of the vehicle to spray clean the exterior surfaces of a vehicle. These jets are commonly arrayed in a washing frame which revolves around the vehicle or passes linearly along the vehicle, or the frame may be kept stationary while the vehicle is passed through the frame. In any case, the object is to submit the entire readily visible exterior surface of the vehicle to the spray jets to remove dirt and grease from the vehicle surface.
The cleaning ability of brushless vehicle washing systems is largely dependent upon two factors: the amount of force (i.e., the pressure) which is imparted by the pressurized cleaning fluids upon the surface of the vehicle, and the effective cleaning area of each pressurized fluid jet. As such, when the pressurized fluid jets are positioned closer to the vehicle, a higher pressure and greater cleaning force is imparted upon the vehicle while the effective cleaning area (i.e., the area of the vehicle exposed to the fluids) is significantly limited. Similarly, when the pressurized fluid jets are positioned at a greater distance from the vehicle, the amount of force (the scrubbing force) imparted by the pressurized fluids upon the surface of the vehicle is reduced while the effective cleaning area is increased. Accordingly, those parts of the vehicle which are furthest from the washing frame may not be adequately cleaned. Since the proximity of the jets to the vehicle determines the effective cleaning force and the area to be cleaned, numerous approaches have been implemented to attempt to position the jets at an optimal distance from each surface (i.e., the front, rear, sides, top, and undercarriage) of a vehicle.
One approach utilizes a washing system which moves parallel along the length of the vehicle on both sides. Such systems typically have spray nozzles disposed along the sides of the vehicle adapted to spray cleansing solutions onto the sides of the vehicle. Since the nozzles are oriented along the sides of the vehicle, they often do not provide sufficient coverage on the front and rear surfaces of the vehicle and, therefore, typically the wash system will have to make a pass in each direction along the length of the vehicle so that the front and rear of the vehicle are sprayed twice in an attempt to get a sufficient amount of solution onto the surfaces for adequate cleansing of the vehicle. Making a double pass is time consuming and also is a waste of solution to the extent that it is sprayed twice on the sides of the vehicle where adequate coverage is obtainable in one pass.
Attempting to eliminate the need to make multiple passes, another approach utilizes a track which is curved and thereby enables a washing frame to be moved in front of and behind the vehicle. While such a system improves upon fixed position systems, this approach often requires the washing system to be suspended from an overhead surface at a significant distance from many vehicles. Since any non-commercial vehicle can ideally be cleaned by an automated vehicle washing system, present systems are configured such that washing apparatus are positioned a safe distance from all sides (including the front and rear) of the largest available non-commercial vehicles. Thus, the overhead tracks are commonly positioned a significant distance from the front, rear, and sides of the largest non-commercial vehicles (for example, a vehicle which is greater than 19 feet long) in order to provide a safe margin of separation between the washing system and the vehicle. As a result, the fronts and rears of compact cars and even standard sized cars are often positioned a significant distance away from the pressurized fluid jets. Such non-optimal configuration results in a reduction in the effective cleaning force imparted by the pressurized fluids upon the vehicle to be cleaned, and typically wastes resources by requiring a longer cleaning period, multiple passes, and the like in order to ensure each vehicle (regardless of size) is effectively cleaned. Thus, this approach also has significant deficiencies.
While the above mentioned approaches are improvements over stationary brushless vehicle washing systems, they are not the optimal approach because they are either configured to effectively clean a mid-size vehicle or the largest vehicles. Trucks, vans, station wagons, sport cars, economy cars, and the like all have unique lengths and profiles. These tremendous variations in vehicle lengths and profiles present unique cleaning challenges for automated vehicle washing systems.
Additionally, since the length and profile of each vehicle entering the wash area may significantly vary, conventional vehicle washing systems often are configured to begin and end each wash cycle at pre-set locations, for example at the entrance and exit ends of the track in the vehicle wash area As a result, commonly available vehicle washing systems often waste resources by beginning and ending wash cycles at a significant distance from the front or rear of a specific vehicle. For example, when compact sized vehicles enter the wash area, significant amounts of water, cleaning solutions, waxes, and the like are often wasted by being sprayed into areas in front or behind the vehicle.
Operators of conventional vehicle wash systems often attempt to conserve resources by limiting the time period of each wash cycle and moving the gantry along the length of the track at a higher than optimal speed. For long vehicles, moving the gantry at such speeds often results in the front and rear of the vehicle not being completely washed. Thus, a prevalent deficiency in conventional automated vehicle washing systems is the inability of such systems to adjust the operation of the washing system and position washing apparatus at an optimal distance form each vehicle.